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Soul Strut 100: # 60 - Don Blackman (1982)

I will slowly be unveiling the Top 100 Soul Strut Related Records as Voted by the Strutters Themselves.

# 60 - Don Blackman (1982)

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This is one of my favorite 80s funk records. It???s a nice mix of P-Funk, Rick James, and the Dave Grusin-esque smooth jazz that plagued the charts during the time. The album is VERY smooth and tightly recorded making it a highly sought after LP for sample hounds. But??? F all that noise. The music is just pure bliss. Including the heavily sampled ???Holding You, Loving You??? that makes you soar above the clouds upon first listen with it???s soft airy vocals, synth wizardry, and enticing Grand Piano lines. ???Deaf Hook Up Connection??? is a rip roaring P-Funk type jam with scat type vocals and compelling hard rock guitar lines. ???Never Miss a Thing??? has some killer slap bass riffs and of course Blackman???s smooth airy vocals again. All and all, this album is a one-off early 80s modern soul/boogie treasure that should be enjoyed by all.

This record has always intrigued me because the combination of soul, smooth jazz, scat, synth, piano, slap bass, and falsetto, made in the early 80's, is a near-guaranteed recipe for fromage. But not this record. It soars above all that and has a cross-over sound that goes over well with regular folk and heads alike.

This is a white whale of mine too - i never really dug it when i first skipped over it in the 90's - i remember thinking it was too smooth for my tastes at the time. Need to hunt down a copy to sit down with.

This is a white whale of mine too - i never really dug it when i first skipped over it in the 90's - i remember thinking it was too smooth for my tastes at the time. Need to hunt down a copy to sit down with.

I remember it being pedestrian.

There was a time when most rock record dealers would not put any value on a record like this.
While it was hard to find it wouldn't cost much from must stores or dealers in my corner of the country.
Now with the google it will always be expensive. I do hope to find a copy and listen again.

I found my first copy of this in a trash can on 6th ave near bleeker in NYC where all those homeless dudes sell records. Apparently someone had given up hope on the crate. His face was staring at me from the trash can. Had never heard of it til I brought it home. Heart's Desire quickly became one of my all-time classics.

As a Lenny White fan I love Donald Blackman . Heard Hearts Desire back in 04 on a Conmen mixtape. I lost the mixtape while on deployment and was absolutely determined to cop the record when I got back in the world. Found it a few years later , and jumped up and down like a little kid when I did . Dudes piano skills are sooooooooo freaking dope. So fonky...

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